Victorious Hearts

It's been an interesting few months of late in which I haven't related my activities, opinions or thoughts. Over the summer I decided to stay in London and focus on my determination to get the career I wanted by 1st September.

Having foregone the pleasures of flying to Arizona to see Josh and from there to Melbourne to catch up with Kerri and see her folks I kept committed to my goal of being an open, passionate and enriching person in my daily work. Supporting various Soka Gakkai activities including the boys Future Group and booking to attend and support the Young Men's Summer Course on deadline day helped keep the vision alive, as did my dogged attendance of Landmark Seminar in Action courses every Monday evening without fail.

With all this in mind I begin work for Monday as a public sector sales manager for an employee benefits company and am really looking forward to being totally open, passionate and enriching in what will be a brilliant and stretching work environment.

Meanwhile, spurred on by an excellent Young Men's meeting at Masaru's, greatly enlivened by the presence of Joe Dempsey I took myself to the Burmese Embassy at noon today in support of peace and democracy in Burma.


The quiet corner behind Curzon street's yawning arc was filled with Burmese people, Amnesty International banners and odds and sods like me out to show solidarity for the cause of peace against the face of selfishness and hatred. Having avoided most forms of political protest in my life, I soon got the gist of standing and listening and clapping when permitted. By the time we all knelt in unison for a minute's prayer for all those in Burma I was still feeling a bit of a spectator, glowering into the TV cameras scanning our faces. But during those moments of reflection, as I accustomed myself to kneel and hold the palms of my hands together as if before the gohonzon the feeling of presence and peaceful commitment to change won over my own doubts and fears.

When I chanted yesterday I felt great compassion for the military leadership for the poverty and life denying hopelessness within their own hearts and sought in my prayer to reach out and transform their own poison into medicine. Today, at 1 o'clock in the afternoon in Charles Street, Mayfair my prayer truly did reach out to all in Burma, that all may be free from their prisons to live lives of joy.